I just (during the last few weeks) watched a bunch of crappy movies, but every one of them raised an interesting "what if...?" question. I'll open a thread for each question.
What if war is inevitable? (X-Men: Days of future past)
Basically, what if the human condition is wired in such a way that we need to have some form of high-intensity conflict? What if war were ingrained in us?
A possible way to circumvent war would be to have some form of bloody entertainment. "Bet on Soldier" or Gladiator games come to mind.
However, what if these games were not enough, that we somehow (as a collective, not as individuals) need large-scale war? With all the gruesome accompanying outcomes: Rape, pillage, death, destruction, mutilation.
Now needless to say, this isn't something I'm hoping for. Sadly, this seems to be the way of the world. Ten years or so ago, I would have bet a large sum of money (never mind that I was 14...) on there never being another war in Europe. The balkan war was over and peace was just really beginning to take hold, Russia was an ally and the only conflict we knew about was 2.5-3000 km away in Israel.
Today, we're experiencing what can only be called an invasion of the Ukraine by Russian troops (anyone reminded of Czechoslovakia, by the way?) and though I'm not one to suggest open war, a policy of appeasement has not been shown to work at any time in the past, I believe.
That's just one example, of course. There have been numerous conflicts in the past where people simply didn't think there'd be one, because the two countries were allies or whatever.
What if war is inevitable? (X-Men: Days of future past)
Basically, what if the human condition is wired in such a way that we need to have some form of high-intensity conflict? What if war were ingrained in us?
A possible way to circumvent war would be to have some form of bloody entertainment. "Bet on Soldier" or Gladiator games come to mind.
However, what if these games were not enough, that we somehow (as a collective, not as individuals) need large-scale war? With all the gruesome accompanying outcomes: Rape, pillage, death, destruction, mutilation.
Now needless to say, this isn't something I'm hoping for. Sadly, this seems to be the way of the world. Ten years or so ago, I would have bet a large sum of money (never mind that I was 14...) on there never being another war in Europe. The balkan war was over and peace was just really beginning to take hold, Russia was an ally and the only conflict we knew about was 2.5-3000 km away in Israel.
Today, we're experiencing what can only be called an invasion of the Ukraine by Russian troops (anyone reminded of Czechoslovakia, by the way?) and though I'm not one to suggest open war, a policy of appeasement has not been shown to work at any time in the past, I believe.
That's just one example, of course. There have been numerous conflicts in the past where people simply didn't think there'd be one, because the two countries were allies or whatever.